UEFA–CAF Meridian Cup

UEFA-CAF Meridian Cup

Organising body	UEFA & CAF
Founded	1997
Abolished	2007
Region	Europe Africa
Last champions	European Selection U-18
Most successful team(s)	Spain (3 titles)

The UEFA–CAF Meridian Cup was a football tournament that featured national teams from Europe and Africa among players under 18, and was part of the co-operation programme between UEFA and the CAF.

Meridian Project

The UEFA–CAF Meridian Cup was part of the Meridian Project, a co-operation agreement concluded by the African and European football confederations in Lisbon on 30 January 1997 to promote the exchange of cultures and to offer young footballers a unique learning experience within the framework of a footballing festival. It was held every two years.

Change of format

The competition evolved from its inception in 1997, running as an eight-team tournament until the 2005 event in Turkey after which the format was changed to a two-legged contest between two continental all-star U18 teams.^[1] The last UEFA–CAF Meridian Cup also involved an educational component consisting of joint training sessions and meetings of coaches from Europe and Africa. The 2007 event took place in Barcelona, Spain, and was hosted on the premises of FC Barcelona.

Regulations

The regulations for the UEFA–CAF Meridian Cup were initially drawn up by the UEFA Administration before being submitted to the UEFA Youth & Amateur Football Committee. They were then forwarded upon that committee's approval to the UEFA Executive Committee for ratification.

Tournaments

Meridian Project

Year	Host	Final			Third place match
		Winner	Score	Runner-up	Third place	Score	Fourth place
1997 Details	Portugal	Nigeria	3–2	Spain	Portugal	2–1 (a.e.t.)	Greece
1999 Details	South Africa	Spain	2–1	Ghana	Portugal	0–0 3–1 (p)	Egypt
2001 Details	Italy	Spain	Round robin format	Italy	Portugal	Round robin format	Czech Republic
2003 Details	Egypt	Spain		Switzerland	France		England
2005 Details	Turkey	France		Spain	Turkey		Portugal

New format

Year	Host	Final
		Winner	Score	Runner-up
2007 Details	Spain	European Selection U-18	6–1, 4–0	African Selection U-18

Teams reaching the top four

Team	Winners	Runners-up	Third place	Fourth place
Spain	3 (1999, 2001, 2003)	2 (1997, 2005)		-
France	1 (2005)	-	1 (2003)	-
Nigeria	1 (1997)	-	-	-
UEFA	1 (2007)	-	-	-
Ghana	-	1 (1999)	-	-
Italy	-	1 (2001)	-	-
Switzerland	-	1 (2003)	-	-
CAF	-	1 (2007)	-	-
Portugal	-	-	3 (1997, 1999, 2001)	1 (2005)
Turkey	-	-	1 (2005)	-
Greece	-	-	-	1 (1997)
Egypt	-	-	-	1 (1999)
Czech Republic	-	-	-	1 (2001)
England	-	-	-	1 (2003)

References